Tony Abbott's "shirtfront" is Australia's word of the year

Sydney

"SHIRTFRONT", an aggressive Australian sports term used by Prime Minister Tony Abbott to challenge Russia's Vladimir Putin, was on Wednesday picked as the National Dictionary Centre's word of the year, beating "man-bun".

Mr Abbott in October vowed to "shirtfront" the Russian president - an Australian Rules football term in which a player charges an opponent - over the crash of Malaysia Airlines MH17 in rebel-held eastern Ukraine. Some 298 people died in the July incident, including 38 Australian citizens and residents, with the West claiming the plane was blown out of the sky with a missile supplied by Russia, an allegation Moscow denies.